Global Survey Shows Canada Set to Lead M&A Growth

May 17, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

Though many parts of the capital markets are slow, a new report by Grant Thornton International suggests that the pipeline for pending mergers in Canada is pretty full.

The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), which polled 12,000 businesses in 40 countries, found that the overall proportion of businesses seeking to grow through M&A has risen significantly from 26 percent in 2010 to 34 percent in 2012.

Canada stands out as one of the most likely mature economies to grow this way over the next three years, with 42 percent of companies planning to expand by buying or merging with another company. Other likely regions include North America (37percent) and the BRIC economies (35 percent). This compares to only 28 percent in mainland Europe, 25 percent in Asia Pacific and just 16 percent in the troubled economies of Greece, Ireland and Spain.

Consumerization of IT Leads Enterprise to Embrace App-Store Model

May 15, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

Recent technology developments and trends, most notably cloud computing and the emergence of mobile devices in the workforce, is raising the expectations from end users for new levels of service from enterprise IT. The ‘consumerization’ of IT has led to users demanding not only the sophisticated technologies that they enjoy on their own devices, but also the flexibility and on-demand convenience to which they have grown accustomed to with app stores. That’s why many big enterprises are now leveraging the popularity of app-stores within their business.

Report Reveals Increasing Appetite for Cross-Border Deals

May 8, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

A new survey by Clifford Chance has found that there is increasing appetite for cross-border deals, as businesses seek growth outside their home markets. The multi-regional report surveyed nearly 400 companies, each with revenues of more than $1 billion. Respondents were asked to rank their top strategic drivers and perceived risks to cross-border M&A.

Promising Signs for Life Sciences M&A Activity in April

May 3, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

April proved to be a big month for M&A activity in the Life Sciences industry as companies announced more than $29 billion in agreed upon transactions, the bulk of which occurred during the final week. This stood in stark contrast to the IPO market, which saw no completed Life Sciences offerings in U.S. markets during the month.

Trends in Technology M&A and Outlook for Remainder of 2012 - Webinar Recap

Apr 17, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

Today we enjoyed an in-depth discussion on Trends in Technology M&A and Outlook for the Remainder of 2012 with Cyrus Lam, Managing Director of KPMG Corporate Finance LLC in New York. Cyrus not only took attendees through the current state of the M&A market, but also outlined the key drivers for technology M&A activity for the remainder of 2012. With the market flush with investable capital, he then provided some advice on how technology companies could make themselves more attractive to potential acquirers.

Audit Firms Turn to Virtual Data Rooms to Help Improve Audit Process

Apr 12, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

Disappointing results from a recent inspection report by the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) are driving audit firms to find new solutions that challenge the traditional audit process.

The CPAB, which oversees the work of Canadian audit firms, said it was “disappointed” in the progress being made on improving audit quality. Its concerns were directed toward both smaller regional firms and the “Big Four” national accounting firms, which audit about 94% of Canada’s publicly traded companies by market size. CPAB found deficiencies between 20 -26% of the audit files it reviewed at the Big Four firms and 47% of the audit files it reviewed from 10 smaller firms.

Consumer Industry Primed for 2012 Recovery

Apr 10, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

A new report from KPMG International suggests that a global recovery in M&A activity in the food, beverage, consumer goods and retail sectors slowed in the second half of 2011. Findings suggest that macroeconomic forces, such as euro zone instability and challenges in arranging financing, were the main contributors.

Firmex Virtual Data Room systems for Electronic Submissions to the FDA

Mar 28, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

The FDA has provided guidelines for electronic submissions as set out in Title 21 CFR Part 11. The guidelines include a set of definitions and required controls but the FDA is not structured or funded to provide certification of applications or vendors. As such, certification on Title 21 CFR Part 11 currently doesn’t exist. Individual companies must bear the responsibility to evaluate whether systems have controls that meet the guidelines for a closed system.

Canada Outpacing U.S. M&A Deal Market at Start of 2012

Mar 26, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

In our 2012 M&A market outlook we predicted a positive recovery for M&A, based largely on 2H 2011 deal flow. Much of this activity is currently being generated in Canada, while the rest of the market seems to be slowing.

Effective Post-merger Management Leads to Talent Retention

Mar 19, 2012 - by Carolyn McCaughey

Companies, since 2001, are getting better at M&A, according to a report by Bain & Company. This is characterized by higher overall returns on acquisition and lower overall underperforming mergers. One thing that remains unchanged though, is the impact that poor communication and swift decision-making can have on talent loss in the post-merger integration phase. When companies wait too long to put new organizational structures and leadership in place or fail to quickly address corporate culture-related issues, talented executives leave for greener pastures.